UPDATE - US expels 60 Russians, closes consulate for UK attack

ADDS DETAILS THROUGHOUT

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. retaliated Monday for a chemical attack in the U.K. blamed on Russia by expelling 60 diplomats Washington said were working as intelligence officers, and orders the closure of Moscow’s consulate in Seattle.

Those expelled include 48 embassy employees and 12 individuals who were working at the Russian mission to the UN, a senior administration official confirmed to reporters on condition of anonymity.

All are accused by the official of working as covert Russian intelligence officers under the diplomatic cover their posts afforded, and a separate official who was also taking part in the briefing called the number of Russian intelligence officers in the U.S. "unacceptably numerous".

All 60 have seven days to depart the U.S.

The Seattle consulate was shuttered due to its proximity to a U.S. submarine base, another official who spoke to reporters on condition he not be named said.

"Today’s actions make the United States safer by reducing Russia’s ability to spy on Americans and to conduct covert operations that threaten America’s national security," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

The actions are some of the strongest pushback to date from the Donald Trump administration on Russia after Moscow was accused of a series of activities aimed at the West, including alleged interference in the U.S.'s 2016 presidential election.

Most recently, former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were admitted to a hospital March 4 after being found unconscious in the southern English city of Salisbury. British officials have placed blame squarely with Russia, a charge Vladimir Putin adamantly denies.

London has said the attack was carried out using a Soviet-era Cold War nerve agent from a family called Novichok.

Skripal was granted refuge in the UK following a 2010 spy exchange between the U.S. and Russia. Before the exchange, he was serving 13 years in prison for leaking information to British intelligence.

Last week, following an EU summit in Brussels, the U.K., Germany, and France reaffirmed the Russian state was responsible for the nerve agent poisoning of Skripal and his daughter.

"Beyond Russia’s destabilizing behavior across the world, such as its participation in the atrocities in Syria and its illegal actions in Ukraine, it has now used a chemical weapon within the borders of one of our closest allies," U.S. ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said in a statement.

"Here in New York, Russia uses the United Nations as a safe haven for dangerous activities within our own borders. Today, the United States and many of our friends are sending a clear message that we will not stand for Russia’s misconduct," she added.